Facing fear: A night in
by Mtwapa
Summary: A oneshot. Set during S4, preDriven. A scifi movie leads to some discoveries. Not quite as serious as the title makes it sound, just light humor and an attempt to get rid of a violent plot bunny that has been affecting my muse.


Author's Note: Why I'm writing another HM story instead of my usual HY I don't know! Just a one-shot idea that I couldn't get out of my head and needed to write about before my muse would let me settle down and complete a chapter for 'Getting There'. Ekaterina and Blanca are Eric's other big sisters. A _kiks_ is like a cross between a sarong and a wrap. It's made out of cotton and is very comfortable and popular to wear to the beach. I wrote this in about an hour so apologies if it's not up to the usual coherent standards that I try to incorporate into my work. Feedback as always is much appreciated and if you have the time please do drop a review. Cheers!

Disclaimer: CSI:Miami and the characters in this fic are not mine. They belong to CBS, Jerry Bruckheimer, Anthony Zuiker (the list goes on but I'm definitely not on it!) Alien belongs to Ridley Scott and 20th Century FOX. It's an amazing film, a great sci-fi classic that should definitely be watched (even though it is a little scary!).

Facing fear: A night in

"So what movie did you pick this time?" asked Marisol flopping down onto the couch with a bowl of popcorn.

Horatio was crouched down, fiddling with the DVD player, "Oh it's a movie that Ray and I loved, we could watch it over and over again and funnily enough Ray Junior really enjoys them too. I'll give you a hint: it's the first movie in a series of four or five now I think."

Marisol rolled her eyes, "Sounds like another Caine male thingy. Well! I really have no idea but after having done this for six weeks now, I think it's safe to say that's it's definitely a sci-fi." She wrinkled her nose, "It's not some other version of Star Trek _is it?"_

Horatio saw her look and laughed, "No Sweetheart, I promise it's not Star Trek." He sat down next to her and pressed 'Play' on the remote.

As they waited for the DVD to load Marisol thought back on how much fun their movie nights had turned out to be. Every week they each picked a movie to watch with each other. Hers were the typical romantic movies that included some Russian and Spanish ones, while his were fantasy based. Not surprising she thought, the man must need some way to escape from the reality of his work, and yet Horatio often gave her a running commentary through the movie about what they were doing wrong in the 'sciencey' bits. Well, he still had her puzzled with his shyness (after-all he was an adult _and_ he had been through divorce _and_ he never looked shy when dealing with a case), and he remained unpredictable, but it was something that appealed to her very much: she had had enough of the 'bad boys', and besides she was willing to bet that he must have been a 'bad boy' in his youth to be the man he was now. Shocking was the fact that before she had suggested watching a movie, 6 weeks ago, he hadn't seen anything since his nephew had left for Brazil. No, it was appalling! And now this was a weekly routine for them. He always tried to leave work a little early. Eric had caught onto to this pretty early and, true to his role as her little brother he had teased her about it. The opening line of music suddenly brought her back with a jolt!

It was so familiar, where had she heard it before? Then the root menu page came up.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

Marisol had stiffened and looked quite pale. She gave a queasy smile, "Nothing, Nothing's wrong. I'm just feeling a bit cold."

"Ok, I can close the door to the veranda." He saw that her attention was completely focused on the screen and that she had completely blanked him out, "Marisol?"

"Hmm…oh I'm just cold."

"I'll close the door then."

"Actually don't bother Horatio, I'll just get my _kiks_." She returned from the kitchen moments later with the neon green cotton wrap twisted tightly around her neck although it rather defeated the purpose of keeping her warm because it still kept her shoulders bare. "Sorry about that."

"Sure you're all right?"

"Of course I am," she replied in a no-nonsense voice, sitting down cross-legged. _Oh God!_ Of all the sci-fi movies he could have picked he just had to pick the _ALIENS_ series! Why couldn't he have chosen something more along the lines of 'The Sound of Music'?

Marisol managed to last tolerably well through the first thirty minutes and then suddenly with a scream she propelled herself into Horatio's lap, burying her face into him just as the alien embryo leapt into John Hurt's face.

"Marisol! What's wrong?" he hit the 'Pause' button. He could feel her shaking against him.

She tried to look brave, "Erm…Sorry about that Horatio." Seeing his face and how worried he was for her, she gave a smile and a sigh of defeat, "Ok, but you're going to think I'm incredibly stupid." He looked at her expectantly, "I was twelve when the movie came out, seventy nine, right?" He nodded, "Well my very first boyfriend took me on my very first date to watch Alien. We managed to sneak in even though it was rated R. I was so excited, the thrill of getting to sit in an R-rated movie was incredible. Adding to the thrill was the fact that our parents didn't know either. Anyway, the movie terrified me. It really scared the hell out of me. I couldn't sleep in the night unless someone slept with me; I used to be so freaked out about an alien egg being under my bed and that if I did look under my bed it would jump out and stick to my face….and oh….it just gave me the shivers," she felt a tingle shoot up her back, goosebumps rose as she remembered it all. "And then when the second one came out Eric wanted so badly to go and see it but he was still too young and my Mom would only let him go if one of us went. Neither Ekaterina or Blanca wanted to go and Eric suckered me into going. I think I brought the cinema down with my screams. It was ridiculous! I think it's one of the few times I've seriously embarrassed Eric, thank-god it was dark in there. And now here I am three times the age I was then and I still find it scary." she jerked her eyebrows up in amused sarcasm.

"So I can see."

"Stupid huh?" She could see the smile poking out at the corners of his mouth.

"No Sweetheart, not at all," He did find it quite amusing, once again drawing the parallel of how different they were. But his mind turned down a more serious avenue: Of course he had been or rather was terrified by things in his past that were manifested in his dreams but that was the only chance he would let them haunt him; when he was unconscious.

"Oh Horatio, don't be silly!" she said exasperatedly to which he just smiled at, "Of course it's stupid."

"Well maybe a little," he conceded, "But then it is classed as science fiction/horror. So it's bound to be scary the first time you watch it."

"I bet you didn't jump the first time you watched it."

"Well no, but Ray did," he chuckled, "You know what Sweetheart?" He brushed his lips lightly over hers.

"What?"

"We could just not watch this. It's not too late to go and get something else."

Marisol punched him rather hard, in a light-hearted manner. "No Horatio. WE ARE going to watch this." she said determinedly, "I'll be happy as long as there's popcorn because if I do say 'No' then you could get out of my movie next week."

"Darn, you saw right through my plan!" he said mockingly. "Seriously though, Sweetheart, we don't have to."

"I know, I know, but I want to. I really do." She replied quietly.

"Ok, then." He pressed play. She cuddled up to him. He put his arms around her and held her closely. He had to force himself to concentrate on the movie and not get distracted by her sitting on his lap. He started to babble on the acid quality of the Alien's blood and the special effects used when he felt her hands drop from his neck. He looked down at her and saw that she had fallen asleep.

Unable to resist now, he kissed her forehead tenderly and stroked her hand within his. He wondered what he should do now. The proper thing to do would be to wake her up and drive her home. It wasn't that late yet, but looking at her now he just didn't have the heart to wake her. He picked her up, she was quite light, well obviously you fool, his mind chided, her chemo's made sure she doesn't have much of an appetite. He laid her gently on the bed. There was an internal struggle of whether he should take the couch in the living room and let her have his bed or wrap her in his arms and lay down with her. His heart knew what it wanted but his mind protested. It would be the first time she'd be staying over and he was also a little nervous about it. It was a step he wanted to take when they were both ready, although God help him but he was the one who wasn't sure if he was ready. Years of living alone had cultivated habits in him that made him sometimes oblivious to certain things. He stood in the dark, dithering over what he wanted. Marisol exuded confidence on such matters while he blundered his way through all the courtship rituals that he had left behind in the heady days of his youth, which now seemed more than a lifetime away.

Every cell within him impatiently urged him on to quickly decide. He looked down at her. She looked beautiful asleep. Well, she always looked beautiful in his eyes: when she smiled, when she frowned, when she rolled her eyes at him, when she laughed and drew him out of his shell of isolation. She was just beautiful, a thin beam of moonlight fell across her sleeping form, her chest rose and fell slowly with every breath. _Every breath_! That did it. He gave into the temptation to sleep next to her. Although strictly speaking it wasn't really temptation because it was what his heart wanted and who could control the heart? Even a heart that had seemed as dead as his? The sound of the strong breeze against the house and the waves foaming on the beach soothed him further: the guilt was replaced by the feeling of wanting, no, needing to cherish what time he had left with her, especially with her chemo taking more of a toll on her, something he had noticed despite the fact that she hadn't acknowledged it. Every breath of hers was precious and it was up to him to make the most of what they had. He didn't want it to ever end. She shifted in her sleep and moved closer to him. He propped himself up on his arm and watched over her wishing he had enough time to memorise every mesmerising feature she had. He prayed that he would have the bout of insomnia that kept him awake on most nights. He didn't want sleep tonight. He didn't need it, not with her so close to him, so vulnerable and innocent in the arms of a cradling sleep. He traced out her features in the air, scared to disturb her. He thought of the pile of papers on his desk, downstairs in the study but they soon floated out of his head as his eyes began to droop. He shook his head a couple of times but much to his chagrin he found his head falling closer to hers. He sighed and let himself relax next to her. He held his breath as he put his arm around her waist and waited for her to move.

Nothing.

He waited another moment before pulling her closer to him. When he was sure he hadn't disturbed her, he kissed her cheek and gave into his sleep.

---------------

Marisol woke up and felt the comfortable warmth surrounding her. She found herself spooning into Horatio and her mind went blank as to how they had both gotten here. She peered into the darkness before finally realising that she was with him in his bed and that she had fallen asleep halfway through the movie. She turned around trying to disturb him as little as possible. She shifted herself up and found herself looking into the face of a much younger man. The lines had completely disappeared from his face and save for the occasional clench of fists he looked completely relaxed. She was surprised to find him fully clothed. His grey pinstriped shirt was still tightly buttoned up at the collar. She undid his first 3 buttons and placed a kiss over his heart before getting up.

----------------

Horatio woke up in an empty bed. His immediate reaction was panic but then his reason calmed him down and forced him to think. He went downstairs, alerted by the unnaturally bright glow filtering through the darkness.

"Marisol?" he switched on the lights in the living room.

She jumped off the couch. They both blinked at the sudden brightness. She unwound the _kiks _from her face. He looked so tired.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you."

"Uh…that's ok. I mean you didn't disturb me. What are you doing?" He came and sat down next to her.

She looked at him sheepishly, "Well, I really wanted to finish the movie. I think it's silly to be afraid of a movie."

"Hence the need to cover the eyes," he teased, referring to the wrap that still partially covered her face.

She blushed. He put his hand on her cheek and pulled her closer to him for a kiss.

"Would you mind if I gave you company?" he asked when they broke apart.

"I'd love to have a big, strong man next to me while I'm watching. Although _you_ have work tomorrow while I don't, and you hardly get enough sleep as it is." Horatio was about to protest. She put her finger against his lips to stop him from speaking, "Don't lie Horatio, I know you don't."

"Well actually Sweetheart, I have the morning off tomorrow." He saw her eyes sparkle.

"Ah, you forgot to mention that."

"Did I?" he questioned flirtingly, "Well it was meant to be a surprise."

"It's still a wonderful surprise," she said happily giving him another kiss, a more prolonged one that led to racing hearts and ragged breathing.

Her eyes flicked to the screen as she let go of him before things escalated and drew his attention to the screen, "Ooh here comes another scary part!" She clutched onto his arm tightly as things started to build up on the screen when Tom Skerritt was in the airshaft with the flamethrower.

45 minutes later much to her relief the movie was over. Save the part where the last remaining crew members got gobbled up she had managed to remain relatively calm and cool.

"It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." She commented as the credits started playing, "I guess what made it really creepy was the music and the silence." She shivered slightly. They were quiet for a while. Horatio had the feeling that there was more to come and that she just needed time to gather her thoughts, "I'm glad you brought it Horatio."

"You are? You looked like you were about to faint!"

"I know but I guess I started watching again just to-" she took his hand and played with it, "- I guess to prove to myself that I have grown up, that I can face up to the things that scare me, and if I start dealing with the little ones now, then who knows, maybe I'll get to the big ones before…" she sighed sadly, "…before it's too late."

"C'mere Marisol." He pulled her into his lap and gave her a hug. "You'll get to the big ones Sweetheart. We can do it."

Marisol closed her eyes when she heard the 'We', if only he knew how big a part he played in all this. How his selflessness and courage had had such an impact on her happy-go-lucky life. She needed to say it, to let him know before that was too late too.

"I couldn't have done it alone, you know, Horatio."

They looked at each other: the silence speaking for them both.

-END-

AN2: So it may seem like a silly one-shot but it was fun to write!


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